Chapter 17 The storm.
A strong wind was blowing on the plains, and Javert had opened his coat to allow Cosette to cover herself also. She was huddled against the inspector, clutching both sides of the coat in her little hands.
For the first time, Javert felt the warmth of a body against him. Cosette had ceased shivering and relaxed as soon as the inspector's thick coat had covered her. She had fallen asleep while he was thinking about what he was going to do with a child. Javert had vaguely thought about it. Handing over the child was the best solution, placing her somewhere, and his mission would end at that point. But where? The silhouette of the inn stood out in the clear sky, he was there at last.
"Here we are, you'll get warm in here", Javert said. Cosette opened her eyes for a moment to see where she was and closed them again.
They went up the small gravel path that led to the inn located a little further on the top. The building was solitary in the middle of a small wheat field and it was surrounded by a forest. Lights illuminated the ground floor while the shutters of the rooms on the first floor were closed.
"Hang on," Javert squeezed Cosette's cold little hands around the reins and get down of the horse. Her face was pale and her eyes were closed. Under the light of the inn, Javert saw that her lips had turned blue. He took her down from the horse, holding her in his arms. He tried to call her but the child did not move. "Kid?" The wind was gusting in all direction. The girl was freezing. Javert did not take the time to tie the horse, Cosette in his arms, he rushed into the inn.
"Help me, this little girl is cold, she will die if we don't warm her up! Fire, quick! »
The room was almost deserted, there was only the innkeeper Javert had met before going to Montfermeil. The woman rushed to help him and led him to the chimney. He laid her down by the fire and took off his coat to cover her.
"I hope she doesn't get sick," the woman said. "You must be hungry! You came all this way from Montfermeil with a child?"
"I'm not hungry, but the child must be, do you have something left? »
"I'll see what I can do." The woman got up and ran to the kitchen.
Two travelers who were still awake and chatting around a table had stopped drinking and talking to observe. Javert felt the eyes of the two men on him. He turned his head and they lowered their heads. The scene must have been absurd, Javert conceded, it was probably midnight and he had entered with a child in his arms. He felt a hand squeezing around his fingers, he looked down and saw Cosette awakening at last. He sighed, relieved. She was smiling at him. At the same time, the innkeeper came back with a tray which she placed on a table nearby the chimney.
"Come, little girl, we must eat," Javert got up and helped Cosette to do the same, wrapping her in his coat and helping her to put her little arms into the wide sleeves of the garment. The coat covered her like a big blanket. He carried her to the table and placed her on the chair. "Eat," he said.
The innkeeper began to laugh, and they both raised a questioning eye at her. "It's nothing, Inspector, it's just very funny to see her in your clothes like that. Eat my darling, you will gain strength." Cosette, also realizing that the situation was comical, began to laugh. Immediately afterwards she took the piece of bread, dipped it generously in the soup, and took a bite of it. She ate all her meal under the benevolent gaze of the innkeeper.
"Do you want a room, Inspector? I saved one for you just in case. »
"What about the car? Is it repaired? »
"Your coach took care of it as soon as you had left for Montfermeil. But I don't think he's finished. My son will give him a hand tomorrow and it will be ready soon enough."
"Good. We'll sleep here then, thank you. »
"I'll get that ready, Inspector, don't move."
The woman stood up, throwing back her long blonde braid behind her shoulder and rolling up her sleeves, revealing fleshy and muscular forearms she went upstairs. The woman had been a widow for a long time and had learned to run the inn's business alone. She had a twelve-year-old son who was now able to help her, but all the work she did, she did it alone. She had been married to an innkeeper at a very young age, she had left town to settle here and her husband had died of a fever and had left her with a son only a few years old back then. And she had never remarried since. Let's finish the description of this woman properly. She was a sturdy and medium-sized woman, muscular as we have noticed, because she did the work, unloading the goods that came to her from the city, lifting the beds and mattresses to clean them, taking care of the field, drawing water and taking care of the horses. Her hands, chubby and worn out by work, had become as rough as a man's. As for her gait, she limped a little because of an old burn she had on her thigh. But in all that masculinity that one might say imposed, some remnants of femininity and delicacy had survived.
She had long blonde and very thick hair that she always braided so as not to bother her. When her hair was undone, it covered her like a golden fleece. These muscles and clothes stained and damaged by the ashes of the wood fire concealed soft and sensual curves. All her femininity was there, expressed by the fleshy curvature of her naturally red lips and her long and black eyelashes that blinked on her blue eyes. There were two things in her which opposed each other, but which, when put together, gave something strangely captivating to this woman. There was something wild, wild and fierce, but also something voluptuous and exquisite. Somehow, there was something in her that reminded Fantine to Javert.
Cosette had finished all her meal when the innkeeper came back. "Here," she said, showing them a small pile of folded clothes, "I found this for you. »
"Where does it come from?" asked Javert as the innkeeper began to unfold the clothes one by one. There was a small white cotton dress, a small red apron and a brown vest.
"Some people left them here, I kept them in case they came back for them, but I guess the little girl who was wearing them must have grown up, so your little girl can take them, I guess. »
Javert turned to Cosette, she was looking at them with admiration.
"Then go change," Javert said.
"You should take a good bath first. I just put some water to heat... Come on, I'll take you to your room. Here! You don't have a case? »
"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Javert, remembering Gallibert. "The horse remained outside. I'm going to take care of it," he said at once, seeing that she was already on her way to the front door. "Could you take care of Cosette, please?"
"I'll take care of her!" She took the pile of clothes under her arm and took Cosette upstairs.
Javert found Gallibert outside and led him to the stable of the inn. He put the horse in a box and took the time to give him an apple that he had taken out of the bag. He petted Gallibert with an absent air. Why not? He said aloud. Cosette would be safe here, wouldn't she? That woman seemed honest. In addition, Cosette would find her place here, she could help the innkeeper, he was sure and certain that she would be treated well. Make Cosette work here... Take her away from the Thenardiers' inn only to leave her in another inn. Was that really a good idea? He did not have a choice right now. He had to put her somewhere, with someone solid, honest and trustworthy. But he did not know anything about this woman, he did not even know her name. What would Cosette say? And what would Fantine do? Would his promise be kept like that? Montreuil was far away, how could he be sure Cosette would be safe here? He pouted against himself and began to laugh. What have you gotten yourself into, Javert? In a promise you can't keep! A promise you made to a prostitute. That kid was not his, he barely knew his mother, and he had to drag her around with him because of a promise. He had promised it simply because he did not want to hurt her, and today he was tied to that woman, to that girl whose life depended entirely on him. Unless it was for something else that he made this promise?
Javert shivered as the wind gusted into the stable, he was not wearing his coat and his hat had remained inside. Javert took the bag and went back inside the inn.
He found his way to their room. He pushed the door, the innkeeper was kneeling in front of a small bathtub in wood where Cosette was sitting. Knees against her chest, water covering her up to her neck, Cosette sang in a low voice while the woman combed her hair. Cosette had not heard him come in, but the innkeeper turned a serious face towards him and gestured him to approach. Javert crouched next to her. "Rise up, Cosette," the child obeyed, she got up and the innkeeper showed the inspector the bruises that sprinkled Cosette's back and shoulders. She gave Javert an inquisitive look.
"The people who were supposed to take care of her…" justified Javert. How could she believe he did it? She probed him for a moment and finally satisfied herself with this answer.
"Will you need anything else?" asked the innkeeper, raising her blue eyes to the inspector. This look puzzled Javert, he stared at her for a long time, scrutinizing something imperceptible in her eyes. Not finding what he was looking for, he shook his head. She gave him a sympathetic look and nodded. "Come on, Cosette, the water's going to be cold. »
Javert left the room as the innkeeper dressed Cosette and remained in the hallway. When finished, the innkeeper went out of the room and gently closed the door. "She sleeps in the fainting couch. You'll have the big bed to yourself. If you need anything, inspector, just come and get me. I sleep downstairs in a small room after the kitchen. Don't hesitate." Throwing her braid behind her shoulders, she went to the stairs. There, she stopped, turned her face, and quietly whispered to the inspector, "By the way, my name is Anicette... Good evening, Inspector. »
Javert had already come inside the room and was about to close the door when she told him that. He greeted her with a nod and watched her come down the stairs. And as she was coming down, another man was coming up. Not seeing Javert in the shadow of the door, he grabbed Anicette by the waist and slammed her against the wall. The man had bent over her neck and whispered inaudible things to her. Javert frowned, clutching the doorknob in his hand, he was about to come out to intervene when he saw Anicette slipping away from the man's arms. "Good evening, Arthur, yes, sleep well, we'll see about that later, okay?" She skillfully pushed him away without upsetting the man, who was evidently under the influence of the liquor. "Good evening," she said, leading him into the hallway. The man gently walked away. Javert caught Anicette's furtive gaze, then she turned her heels and disappeared.
The journey had been long and Cosette was already sleeping soundly, comfortably tucked in a blanket. What am I going to do with her? He thought.